Twisted Happiness
by Tsukiakari Night
Summary: "Did you really think your happiness would last forever, Akane?" "No, but I thought you would help me make it last as long as it could, since it's what we both want, Itachi." "You know that my duty comes before anything else." "That was my mistake. You truly are a sick person. I should have known." "You did know, you chose to turn a blind eye." Ignorance was not bliss. ItachixOC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Balance**

"You know, I use to always think it was romantic to be able to die on the same day, month, and year as the one you loved. Knowing that you'd be able to pass on together with the one you love at the same time-knowing one of us wouldn't be left alone to live in this cruel world alone," she blinked, trying control the mix of sadness, anger, and hatred she was feeling, "-that even in death, we'd still have each other- when I thought this... never in a million years, did I expect this."

Rain was pouring hard. The night was cold and dark. Her back was flat against the chilling pavement. Though it was dark, the colour of blood seemed to illuminate the night. Red. So red. So much of it is flowing, flowing out of her, signalling that her death is near. She couldn't tell what was more cold, the night air itself, or the kunai that was positioned on her neck, ready to slice it open in mere seconds.

The night seemed to sing a rhapsody for this scene. The climax was near and all that was needed for the conclusion was the finishing move from him.

"Come on, do it. Kill me already. Is this not your duty? To kill those who would destroy what you hold dear? Why are you hesitating Itachi? Do it already. You know if you don't make the move, I will destroy Konoha and Sasuke myself. Wouldn't that be making all of your preparations be in vain? You are a shinobi, you kill the enemy. It shouldn't be hard since I never meant anything to you. Do it. Kill. Me."

His Sharingan eyes seemed to twist in pain like her heart did. Though she said all of this, there was no denying that the droplets rolling down her cheeks was not raindrops.

"Kill... Me..." she whispered again. And finally she felt the skin of her throat being torn away by the kunai.

_So Konoha meant that much more. She knew that of course._

* * *

Amongst the living, there are those who live like they are living, but there are also those who live as if they were dead. Why live when there's no reason to live? Why not just end life there? Those are some thoughts which flow through the minds of those who have lost so much.

One never knows true pain until they have lost the only thing that made them smile, and it is sad because most things, once lost, cannot be regained. In the cruel world that we live in, there are precious moments in which everything is so right, where everything is perfect- so perfect that you begin to believe no one can take those things away from you. But that is simply naive thinking, because the world runs on a scale. Everything must be balanced, and balance requires good and bad. Hence, everything good, must come to an end. Nothing is forever.

* * *

In the Shinobi world, life is precious. One's life is always on the line, and many die at a young age. The fight for peace is- hard to achieve.

The slap to her cheek sent her flying across the room. Her hand instantly went to her cheek to cover up the redness that was sure to form. She said nothing, and did nothing.

"Get up!" her Sensei ordered. And so she did. The rest of the class merely watched as he continued to slap her. She could hear them snicker and laugh at her because she was slightly different. Was it so wrong to have one azure eye and one pitch black eye? Was it so wrong to be what they called "a freak?" This was the way she was born, yet, they could still ostracize her for something she could not control. The world was a sickening place.

This wasn't the first time her Sensei had done this, however, it was the first time someone had stopped him.

"Sensei," a bored, calm voice called from the doors.

Sensei stopped striking her for a moment and addressed the voice,"What?"

She turned and met eye to eye with the one who had intervened. She knew him. Everyone knew him. He was the Prodigy and his clan was her Saviour.

"May I ask why you are slapping my clansmen like she was a piece of trash?" Itachi asked coolly.

It seemed as if even the Academy teachers had a fear for him. Perhaps being such a young genius scared everyone.

"C-clansmen?" her Sensei stuttered.

That made the whole class gasp and it brought a chilling smirk to Itachi's face, "That girl," he pointed to her, "is under the protection of the Uchiha clan and anyone who harms my own is my target."

Her Sensei and the class had fear in their eyes because they knew what the young, 8-year old boy was capable of.

"Are you threatening me, boy?"

"No, that would be very impolite of me, I am simply stating the facts. Do not, I repeat, do not, hurt the people in my clan," he warned with a dangerous tone. Her Sensei backed down.

The young girl sat there in silence, she hadn't moved an inch, but she was conscious of the exchange that just happened. She could feel it as Itachi's chakra approached her.

"Akane, it is time to go home," he grabbed her arm and helped her stand. her face was bruised severely and very red. Seeing it made Itachi very irritated. He turned towards the girl's Sensei and shot him daggers.

He grabbed onto her hand and lead her out of the academy. Once they were outside of the academy, Itachi sighed and suddenly the air around them felt lighter.

"Akane, you need to learn to stand up for yourself, had I not found out about your predicament, I wouldn't have been able to help," Itachi told her while shaking his head.

Despite what he said, she just nodded her head. To stand up for her self meant that she actually cared for herself, which she found hard to do since she had been abandoned when she was born. He sat her down half way home and started to send chakra into her face to heal it a bit.

About one year ago, she was found by shinobi in the village, she doesn't remember much from that night, but everything before that was clear as day. She grew up on the streets of Konoha, picking out of trash to survive. She never really understood why she bothered trying to survive, when the people in the village clearly did not want her. She was not fond of those memories but there was one that she was fond of. She clearly remembers a young yellow-haired boy who smiled at her. Genuinely smiled at her, and for once in her six years of life, she had never been happier to be alive. No one had ever smiled at her, and till this day, she remembers that face.

Later on, she was brought to the Uchiha's to be more precised, Itachi's home. The man who brought her discussed with the head of the clan about her. About her eyes. When the head of the clan took one look at her eyes, he declared he'd take her under his care, and told her nothing else. From that day on, she lived in this mansion, but she felt empty. It had been one year since Akane began to live here but no one outside of the clan knew except for the man who brought her. Over the year, she became accustom to the Uchiha routines, because she was an outsider, she was not included in much clan business, but the family was nice enough to her.

Akane being the person she was, didn't talk to anyone much. She did what she was told and just kept quiet. Once in awhile, she would talk to Mikoto-san, whom she did not call anything else. She was very nice to Akane and made her feel welcomed. She talked to Sasuke sometimes and Itachi always acted like a brother to her. But deep inside, they were not her real family.

"Okay, Akane, I'm all done, are you ready to go?" he offered his hand to her. For the whole year she has known him, Itachi has been nothing but nice to her, part of that made her sick. How could someone be so nice- so generous... it made her feel very monstrous.

She nodded her head and took his offered hand. His hand was rough but very warm, a feeling she was not accustomed to, but welcomed very much. Akane didn't understand why, but she liked having him be there for her. He was the one person who made her feel like she- wasn't a monster.

"Hey, Akane, about your eyes..." Itachi began and scratched his head as if he didn't know what to say. Akane looked up at him, he was slightly taller than she was, not too much considering it was only a one year age difference.

"Uhm..." he continued, looking up to the sky as if a script was written there for him to read. She simply continued to stare at him with a tiny bit of curiosity because he had never talked to her about her strange eyes. This would be the first, and truthfully she was a bit frightened.

"Don't let anyone call you a monster because of your eyes, they are special, they are unique, they make you- you. So don't hate them," he said calmly, "And truthfully, I like them very much," he smiled down at her.

A childish, and innocent smile. A smile so pure that it can only signal the time for peace to end.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - A Strange Man**

When Akane and Itachi returned home, they were greeted by Sasuke who demanded his brother's attention immediately.

"Show me some new jutsu!" Sasuke begged his older brother. Itachi crouched down to Sasuke's level and poked his forehead very lightly. Sasuke's head bobbed back a cm.

"Maybe a bit later, I have work to do, sorry," he apologized to Sasuke.

"Awwww," Sasuke pouted and looked up at Akane. Akane and Sasuke were not the closest of people. They lived with each other but they never really bonded. She did not have a problem with him, he simply never really intervened into her life.

"Would you like to teach me some new jutsu?" his questioned directed at Akane.

She smiled meekly and shook her head. She slipped out of her shoes and walked up to her room, leaving the two brothers at the front door. She was a person of little words. She collapsed onto her bed, long black hair that passed her shoulder pooled around her head. Truth be told, she really disliked the Academy. Not just because of the treatment she received but mostly because she was not interested in being a shinobi. Why should she have to train to fight and kill to protect those who did not protect her? Perhaps she was just bitter but she knew she was right.

After Itachi revealed she was under the Uchiha clans protection, she hoped she would receive better treatment but part of her knew it wouldn't happen. Maybe it was even worst now. It was strange, she wasn't an incompetent student, in fact, she was talented, of course not as talented as Itachi Uchiha but her grades were second to none. She was at the top of her class in all aspects of fighting. It seemed that the ninja arts was a natural talent of hers, but despite that, her eyes seemed to overshadowed all of that.

Her eyes- no matter how hard she tried to understand, she couldn't figure out why Itachi wasn't disgusted by them. In fact, no one in the clan was, and she was quite thankful for that. Deep inside her, she knew the clan knew something about her she didn't know, but no one would tell her.

She rolled around on her bed, changing positions because one just got really uncomfortable after awhile. She stared at the ceiling and just thought of nothing.

"Akane, come out here please," a soft, serene voice called. It was Mikoto-san. Akane sighed and slipped out of bed. She walked out to the kitchen and saw Mikoto-san cooking like she did everyday.

When she saw her enter, she smiled at Akane.

"Would you help me cut the carrots?" Mikoto-san asked nicely. She offered her the knife and Akane took it. This was daily routine for them. It seemed as if Mikoto-san never wanted to leave her alone, she didn't know if she liked that or not.

Akane quietly cut the carrots.

"How was class today?" she asked while washing her hands of dirt.

Akane shrugged, "It was okay."

She said nothing else, but she could feel Mikoto-san's eyes staring intensely at her. Akane knew what was going to happen. She knew Mikoto-san would ask. It seemed strange to her that she cared so much for her. Akane learned to disregard her well being because she wasn't worth much. No one should care about her. She didn't mean anything, she was simply another human being on this earth.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she took the knife from Akane's hands and placed it on the table.

"Itachi told me everything," she raised a hand to the young girls face and rubbed it softly, "You should've come to us, Akane."

Akane stared at the floor not knowing what to say. She didn't know how to feel. It had hurt- the treatment, but she felt like nothing could be done. She felt cornered by her own apathy.

Suddenly, Mikoto-san pulled Akane into her arms and gently embraced her. She softly rubbed circles on her back and this gesture made Akane break down. She began to cry, just cry.

Crying was good, it helps to release the bottled up emotions. Everyone should cry because before they know it, they can cry no more.

* * *

Akane sat quietly by a tree, watching Sasuke throw kunai knives at a target on a tree. He was getting frustrated because he couldn't hit the target every time. She noticed that the way he flicked his wrist was off sometimes.

"Sasuke," she called quietly. Sasuke stopped to look at her. Surprise was written on his face because she hardly ever addressed him.

As the sun shone brightly in the sky, Akane got up from her spot and walked towards him.

He watched her move towards him and she put her hand out, signalling him to give her the kunai. He understood immediately.

"Uhm, you're throwing it wrong, you will hit your target every time if-" she showed him the movement of her wrist as she prepared to release the knife, "this."

And the kunai went flying, directly to the target. She threw two more kunai to prove her point. Fascination was present in Sasuke's eyes and he ran to grab the kunai's from the target. She observed him as he repeated what she did and achieved the same results. Sasuke turned to her and jumped up and down in excitement.

"I did it! I did it! Thank you, Akane!" Akane gave him a light smile and returned to her spot by the tree. She didn't know why she had helped him, she wasn't the type to offer help without being asked.

As she continued to watch Sasuke for awhile longer, her eyelids felt heavy and she fell asleep. She didn't know how long it had been but when she woke up someone was beside her.

She rubbed her eyes and looked cautiously to her right.

"Morning," Itachi greeted her. She nodded and noticed Sasuke was still practicing.

"I heard you helped him out," he informed her,"Thank you for that." She didn't respond and when he realized that, he continued,"As you know, Sasuke is often neglected by my parents because of me. I wish it wasn't that way, he's such a talented boy," Itachi placed his hands behind his head.

Akane observed Itachi with her peripheral vision. They looked alike- Itachi and Sasuke. But that's probably where the similarities stop. Sometimes, she felt bad for Sasuke because when she thought about it, her and Sasuke were very alike. They both had this talent that was overshadowed by something they could not control. Perhaps out of everyone, Sasuke understood her the most.

"Yeah, he is," she said subconsciously. When she processed she had spoken out loud, Itachi looked at her and let out a chuckle,"Talk more, Akane. It makes you happier, did you know?"

Akane quickly shook her head and they continued to sit in silience.

* * *

"Status report, son."

"I believe she is close to awakening her kekkei genkai."

"How can you be so sure? She is still quite young."

"Being young has nothing to do with it, we never knew much about that kekkai genkai, so we can't disregard the fact that- that bloodline might be able to be achieved at a young age. And I can see it in her eyes- an intense flame beginning to form."

* * *

The next day at the academy, Akane walked in silently like usual and took her seat in the upper right corner next to the window. She was the only student to sit in the back row. Her Sensei eyeballed her but said nothing to her. The other students kept their distance even more than usual.

"Class, today we have an important figure who is coming in to talk to us," he informed the class. As if on cue, an old man, in a white robe walked into the class room.

"Class, please show your respect to the Third Hokage." Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Third Hokage. Akane observed the man keenly. He had a high quality aura that signified his high standing and overall power. Her observation of chakra were perfectly accurate, in other words, her sensory abilities were top notch. This man- earned the title of Hokage.

"Hello children, I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage as you know," he said. He walked towards the center of the class and stood tall. He glanced around the whole class and the looks on the majority of the children were looks of awe.

"Sarutobi-sensei is here to talk to all of you about an important subject," her Sensei announced before quietly taking a seat among the students.

The Hokage walked towards the chalkboard and wrote one word on the board.

Honor.

He turned around and faced the class, "Honor, is the foundation of the shinobi. What do we fight for? We fight to protect what we love, the village, the people who mean something to us-" he walked towards the window and stared outside, "numerous of shinobi have lost their lives doing this.. but all of them died with honor, they died for their people."

Akane listened closely to his words, she was curious to see where he was going with this.

"All of you, who are sitting in here, are training to be shinobi, one day, your life will be on the line and you will fight to protect those you care about-" he walked up and down th aisles, looking at each student individually, "it will be a hard and difficult journey, full of pain and sorrow... but that is what it means to be a shinobi. Sometimes you will find yourself in impossible situations where duty seems more important-" he stopped in fromt of Akane," but let me tell you, duty isn't always what makes the best shinobi. Sometimes you need to follow your heart, every shinobi has their own body, mind and soul that makes them unique."

He stared at Akane's face for a little while before continuing back to the front, before he left though, she noticed a tiny look of surprise on his face.

"You kids, are the next generation of shinobi, protect your village, find something worth fighting for, trust yourself, and live honorably, follow that, and you're on the path to being a respectable shinobi," he took his place at the front of the class and pulled out a pipe, "remember, Konoha will always be your home."

The class was dead silent. Akane committed his words to memory because they struck something inside of her. His words made some sense to Akane, maybe one day they'd help her.

When he had stopped to stare at her, she found it very strange. His face was completely neutral, as if he was reading her face for something. She watched him and she could see all his facial expressions made before he made them. It was like, his face was outlined with chakra that pointed to the next image. She wasn't sure how to explain it.

After class was over, Sarutobi-sensei pulled Akane over to talk to her.

"Hello child," he greeted.

Akane bowed her head in greeting.

"You have some lovely eyes," he observed. Akane shifted uncomfortably.

He chuckled, "You seem to have developed an interesting ability, I've never seen anything like it."

"Ability?" Akane was shocked.

"I kind of want to keep it a surprise for now-" he patted her lightly on the head, "I think you'd rather learn from someone who understands anything visual related more than I..."

"Someone? What's wrong with my vision?" Akane was quite confused. She was seeing normally. Wasn't it normal to be able to see chakra paths?

"Nothing is wrong, in fact, it's a miracle. I'll have Kakashi look at you," he told her.

She knew that name, everyone did. The Copy Ninja. Why would they have to meet?

"Don't give me that face, everything will be okay," he laughed. Akane was probably frowning and didn't realize.

"I'll be taking my leave now," he turned to leave when suddenly his head turned back around,"Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"Akane," she answered,"Just- Akane."

The Third Hokage nodded and left. He was a strange man.


End file.
